Method of producing iron sheets by electrical deposition.



UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIcE. A

JosErH H. PE'ocTER, OEWILKINSBU'EG,`i=ENNsYLvANIA, AssrGNoE ToWEsTINGHoUsE ELEcTEIc a MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A coEPoEATIoN or PENNSYLVANIA METHoD 0E PEoDUcING IEoNsHEETs EY ELEcTmcAL .nErosITioN Producing Iron Sheets by Electrical Deposi? tion, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates toa methodjof producing iron sheets by electrical deposition?, and it has for an object to providev a method of production of iron vlaminae or sheets that may be readily separated from the electrodes upon which they yare deposited and hence be cheaply and easily manufactured.

Another object of my invention vis to eli-- able the production of very thin platest'or thick sheets without distorting or straining them. y

A further obj ect of my invention is to produce, in a simple manner, a plate consisting of a series of laminae that may be machined or punched into field-'pole structures.

A still further object of my invention is to produce a structure composed of a plurality of laminae that may be stamped or otherwise worked as `a single unit and thenseparated Into individual laminas, with a minimum eX-V pense.

It is well known that iron sheets for electrical devices could be cheaply constructed by the electrical deposition method if it were not for the fact that the deposited iron must be` stripped from the electrode.` According to my invention, an electrode is covered, by electrodeposition, with iron to the thioknessofa single lamination and then coated with some substance,l preferably such as an oxid, that will not be affected by annealing. A coat of' graphiteis then applied and. another layer of iron electrolytically deposited, this process continu-ing until the desired number of electro-depositions has been obtained.

In the drawing accompanying'the speci ication, Figure 1 is a section of a structure produced according to my invention;Fig. 2

is a vertical section of a conventional cell for depositing iron; and Fig. 3 is a sect/ion of a modified form of cell. f/ l Y Referring to Fig. 1, member 1 is an electrode upon which an iron lamination 2,' has been electrically deposited. A coating 3,/ of' soluble material may be paintedy or burnished upon the deposited lamination 2. This coating 3 is, in turn, coated with a layer 4 of Specification of Letters Patent. Patented API'. 15, v1919. Application ined september 7, 1917. serial No. 190,113. A

graphite or other conducting material, upon which an iron lamination 5 may be electrolytically deposited. y n

In Fig. 2 is shown a container 6 for the electrolyte. having electrodes 7 and 82 Electrode, upon ,which the iron is to be deposited,.has a cap memberiQ, preferably detachably connected thereto, the c ap member 9 being provided with ia supporting member 10. Electrode 7 may be of anydesiredjorm but preferably of plate-shape. The electric 'current' is passed from electrode 8 through the electrolyte, during thebfrst'operation of" 'the device, to" theI electrode "7 and then throughcap 9 and support 10 lin series. After the first lamination 1s deposited, thev electrode 7"is"gremoved `from the electrode and coated successively with oxid and raphite. In thenext operation, the electro e 1s'A replaced inzthe cell and current is passed from electrode `Sithrough the electrolyte to the graphite coatingand thence to cap member 9. In each instance, thepxposed surface `of cap member 9 is .covered'with wax or other f similar material vand a. strip of this ony the lower facejof cap 9 adjacent electrode 7 is sor removed to enable the graphite-to make electrical contact with cap member 9;- The wax the cap member. r

In Fig. 3, a cylindricalvelectrode 11, cor; responding to electrode 7 in Fig. 2, is shown` with a circular capmember 12 and a supporting member 13. Surrounding elec-trode 11, and preferably concentric with. it," is annular electrode 14. A container 15 is provided' for the electrolyte.v ,The operation of this modified form of ymyv invention isin all respects', similar to that of theform'illustrated in Fig. 2 and henceneed not be set forthin'detail. l f

The method of my invention producesa laminated structure that Nmay be worked or machined .into field pole pieces or various coating prevents deposition of metal' upon Iother desired fo-rms.

'Vlhere it is desirable to anneal the laminated structure, the oXid or-non-conducting coatingl 'should be of material not ai'ected by the` annealing process. Y

In many instances, it is desirable to have interlaced plates; In such cases, thematerial with which the successive metal laminae are coated mustbe of such nature that it may be dissolved or liquefied without destroying themetal laminas. Under certain conditions, a ferrous oXid may be used and dissolved out by sulfuric acid, Which, at eertain concentration, Will have little effect upon the deposited iron. Numerous other equivalent non-conducting coating substances will suggest themselves to one skilled in this art.

In some cases, a wax, which may be readily melted, may be used to coat the deposited iron where it is desired to separate the iron sheets or laminae.

Obviously, other forms of electrodes and conducting materials may be used.

While I have herein shown and described different embodiments of apparatus for carrying out my invention, it Will be understood that various modifications may be eiected by anyone skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of building up composite structures which consists in electro-depositing a metallic layer, covering said metallic layer with a substantially non-conducting material to insulate it, coating said non-conducting material With graphite, and electrodepositing a second metallic layer upon said coating of graphite.

2. A method of producing metallic sheets which consists in forming superposed sheets by electro-deposition and coating, in succession, and finally dissolving the intermediate sheets of coating material to separate the electro-deposited sheets.

3. A coherent composite structure consisting of alternate layers of electro-deposited metal, an oxid and non-metallic material.

4. A method of building up lamina-ted metallic structures which comprises forming a metallic sheet by electro-deposition, providing an oxid coating thereon, applying a nonmetallic current-conducting coating thereto and electrolyltically depositing a'second metallic sheet upon the latter coating.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 31st day of August, 1917.

JOSEPH H. PROCTER. 

